Basketball miracles

Chapter 53 [Even More Powerful]

The Lakers' game against the Suns started on time the following evening.

The Lakers have a very tight schedule, and Xiao Tu ate some premium lychees at the hotel to restore his energy to peak condition. He looked more energetic than his teammates when he entered the game, which pleased Coach Pat Riley greatly.

"Self-discipline" has become a label for Xiao Tu. Even after he and Madonna officially announced their relationship, people did not think that his performance would decline as a result.

Xiao Tu was matched up against last season's Slam Dunk Contest champion, Larry Nance, which also attracted attention.

After becoming the Slam Dunk Contest champion, Larry Nance Jr. has also gained immense popularity at the power forward position. This season, he's currently averaging 20 points and 8.8 rebounds per game with a 58% field goal percentage, and should be a strong contender for the Western Conference All-Star team.

Nance was determined to compete with Xiao Tu and prove himself. Their personalities were very similar, and Nance considered Xiao Tu his number one rival.

Xiao Tu, however, did not think the two had similar playing styles, and felt that Nance was not as good as Tom Chambers, a player the SuperSonics had defeated.

Black players share a common problem: most of them won't put in the effort to practice their shooting unless their physical abilities decline significantly and they can no longer rely on their bodies to play basketball. Nance is a typical example of a Black player who relies on his physicality, wasting his talent.

Nance is 208cm tall and weighs only 93kg. Because he is so thin, his physique looks a bit strange, with his shoulder bones protruding particularly. His legs are very thin and his lower body is unstable. He mainly scores by facing the basket and using his speed and jumping ability to attack the rim. His jump shot is not accurate.

Xiao Tu's physique is flawless, and he possesses excellent jump shooting ability. He is currently one of the best jump shooting centers in the NBA, and his pull-up jump shot is praised by fans as having "a beautiful form!"
Xiao Tu knew how easy it was to defend someone without a jump shot; all he had to do was stay close and guard them. Unless the opponent was stronger than him, they definitely wouldn't be able to shake him off.

As expected, Xiao Tu completely dominated Nans after the game started, forcing the opponent to miss shot after shot.

Nance is a master at beating weaker opponents; he usually performs exceptionally well against those with inferior physical attributes. Whenever Nance participates in a fast break, Suns fans stand up and chant, "Give the ball to Larry! Larry! Larry!"

However, if his opponents are physically similar to him and can keep up with his speed, he will struggle on offense. Today, fans watching the game felt that they shouldn't give the ball to Nance anymore, because he couldn't break through or get going.

Unfortunately, Nance looked like a complete waste against Xiao Tu, unable to even get into the penalty area.

Nance's most powerful weapon was his somewhat deformed skeleton, which made Xiao Tu feel very uncomfortable during physical confrontations.

Corpse Bone Pulse - Willow Dance!
Xiao Tu's performance was as consistent as ever, displaying All-Star caliber on both offense and defense. His abundant energy allowed him numerous shot attempts today, including receiving the ball on fast breaks and attacking the basket, as well as cutting inside after screens and shooting jumpers.

The physical difference between the two was so great that Nance felt desperate. Unless he gained 20 kilograms, he could never become as strong as Xiao Tu even if he lifted weights every day.

Nance was repeatedly forced to keep his jump by Xiao Tu during defense, unable to block shots and also losing some defensive rebounds. Once Magic Johnson drove past him, he could only watch Xiao Tu pull up for a jump shot with slight interference.

The Lakers ultimately defeated the Suns 127-102, and the game became garbage time in the latter part of the fourth quarter.

湖人多点开花五人得分上双还不包括魔术师约翰逊。他在背靠背的比赛中偷懒了，没什么拼劲投篮命中率也低，10投3中，罚球4中3，得到9分4篮板15助攻2抢断。

Even with their key perimeter players scoring very little, the Lakers still dominated playoff teams and won easily.

肖途17投11中，三分球2中0，罚球8中7，得到29分14篮板2抢断2盖帽。美中不足的是他两次外线出手都偏出，罚球也少进一个，否则得分30+。

拉里南斯14投5中，罚球6中5，得到15分6篮板1助攻，还有4次失误4次犯规。

Xiao Tu completed three powerful dunks, while Nance failed to dunk. He attempted dunks twice on fast breaks, but was fouled by Xiao Tu and pulled down from the air.

Xiao Tu's defense is quite aggressive; he knows how to use the rules effectively and never holds back against his opponents. As long as he's in the paint, it's very difficult for opponents to dunk; they're forced to go to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's side.

Xiao Tu's ability to block a dunk can demoralize the opponent and is highly intimidating. All he needs to do is control his fouls and avoid being ejected.

He hasn't fouled out yet and has received star-level refereeing on the defensive end. Only unknown rookies get frequently called for fouls during physical contact and are targeted by the referees.

Xiao Tu's fouls are always measured; he only fouls when he anticipates that a block won't be successful, not with the intention of injuring anyone. He has never done anything unethical, such as tripping an opponent to prevent a jump shot, intentionally elbowing an opponent in the face, or sneaking up from behind and shoving an opponent hard when they're going for a layup.

贾巴尔同样表现高光，砍下36分7篮板3助攻。太阳首发中锋莫里斯-卢卡斯身高206CM，体重100公斤，惨被打爆只有10分8篮板。

Lucas was once a star center, a four-time All-Star with the Trail Blazers and Suns, but he was past his prime at only 32. In a parallel world, he would take a pay cut to join the Lakers after this season, but unfortunately, they failed to contend for the championship. With Xiao Tu on the team, there was no place for Lucas on the Lakers; the management didn't value him.

In the post-match press conference, Xiao Tu said he had no special feelings about winning.

A reporter asked him about participating in the dunk contest.

Xiao Tu laughed and said, "I will definitely participate and I am confident of winning the championship. I watched last season's dunk contest, and I will definitely dunk better than Larry Nance."

The reporter asked, "So how do you evaluate Nance?"

"He's an excellent player, very good, but I'm better." Xiao Tu didn't belittle Nance, he just told the truth.

Nance's average stats are still quite impressive; after all, he's an All-Star caliber player.

In an interview, Magic Johnson was asked about his low scoring average. As a superstar, Johnson often scores less than double digits, leading many to believe he is inferior to Larry Bird.

Johnson chuckled and said the team didn't need him to score a lot of points to win, and Xiao Tu applauded him in his heart.

A selfless point guard superstar should maintain this mentality: leave the scoring to me.

When you retire, you'll be the strongest second option in NBA history.

On the way back to Los Angeles, Xiao Tu pretended to close his eyes and rest, but quietly opened the newly acquired brass treasure chest.

He hoped to receive fruit as a reward this time, not just for Madonna, but also for himself.

His wish came true, and his reward was a top-grade horned melon. Its benefits include strengthening the spleen and stomach, clearing heat and detoxifying, calming the mind and stabilizing the spirit, nourishing blood and beautifying the complexion, and also enhancing immunity.

Xiao Tu didn't plan to take them out immediately; he wanted to wait until he finished eating the lychees. If he took out high-end fruit every few days, it wouldn't seem so valuable.

Besides, with so much stuff, Madonna would probably be more interested in meeting Xiao Tu's fictitious Chinese friend. She'd be curious: what kind of person could give him so many nice things?
Xiao Tu wasn't sure if this new thing should be considered a fruit; it was more like a vegetable.

Kiwano is currently a very niche product. Xiao Tu had seen it in supermarkets; it was quite cheap, but almost no one bought it. It wasn't until Thanos endorsed it in "Avengers: Endgame" that kiwano suddenly became a global sensation, and its value skyrocketed.

After Thanos retired from the world and laid down his armor, he lived in seclusion on a secret planet. In the sunset, he picked some orange, oval-shaped fruits covered in irregular spikes and trudged home to cook.

Thanos picked the kiwano, which looks a lot like an alien fruit. Xiao Tu had looked it up online in his previous life; it was quite expensive in China and supposedly tasted mediocre, being a cousin of the cucumber, so he had never bought it.

Xiao Tu was certain that the horned melon fruit rewarded by the treasure chest would taste extraordinary and be very beneficial to the body. He thought that just boosting immunity would be great; he wondered to what extent it could help, but if it prevented him from getting sick, it would be amazing.

It's not about serious immune diseases; people get sick from colds and such all the time. Even with his exceptional physical condition, he's not immune to all illnesses.

NBA players, despite their good health, can still catch colds; many miss games each season due to the flu.

Replenishing blood and improving complexion are also beneficial effects, which Xiao Tu may not care about, but Madonna would definitely like. Women have more issues than men, and they have their periods every month, so Madonna really needs to replenish her blood.

As Xiao Tu thought about it, he realized that he was actually a warm-hearted man.

Not long after we met, I was already thinking about Madonna's feelings.

She's a lucky woman. She'll eat so many delicious things with me from now on, all of them top-quality ingredients that you can't buy anywhere else.

I wonder if the Silver Treasure Chest will yield higher-level fruits or ingredients. It probably will.
Wow, I'm so good to her, this is true love.

(End of this chapter)